But the RSS’s new chief, Mohan Bhagwat, and his predecessor K. Sudarshan, to a lesser extent, are the exceptions. Bhagwat appears to love the media spotlight and the sound of his own voice. His candid comments, his constant advice to the BJP and to the country as a whole, along with occasional retractions, suggest the makings of an immature politician.

Apart from such startling pronouncements as globalisation is responsible for the unrest in the world, Bhagwat keeps making the point that he knows best what is good for the BJP. His gratuitous advice for the ailing BJP includes hints as to who should be the next BJP president — that he should be between the age of 50 and 55 and from outside Delhi — and that L.K. Advani should retire soon. But surprisingly, while Bhagwat has solutions to fix the country and the BJP, no one has been impertinent enough to question why he has not been able to revive his own flagging organisation, which, in fact, is in far poorer health than the BJP.

The BJP may be declining rapidly, thanks to a vacuum in leadership, but it still has a lot going for it. It has governments in six major states and is an alliance partner in two others. The BJP remains the main opposition party in the country with 116 Lok Sabha MPs. Whatever its current travails, the party has had an impressive growth rate. The BJP won just two seats in Parliament in 1984, but it succeeded in capturing power at the Centre twice in less than two decades.

The RSS, on the other hand, no matter what statistics it may trot out about increased membership, has remained fairly stagnant. The sense of idealism, social service and spiritualism which the RSS inculcated among its followers half a century ago is largely missing today. Many of the new recruits to the RSS are opportunists who sniff a chance to exert influence on governments in states where the BJP is in power. The RSS has failed to reinvent itself to remain relevant in the 21st century. It is still stuck in its post-Partition mindset, nursing a pathological suspicion of minorities and dreaming of what it calls “Akhand Bharat”. It has tarnished its image with its protective stance towards madcap Hindu terrorist groups.

The RSS has failed to focus on issues which concern today’s youth. In a country obsessed with cricket, it still relies on kabaddi and lazeem exercises. In the age of blue jeans and kurtas, it still insists on a uniform of baggy khaki shorts which would make even a country hick squirm. It is hardly surprising that few sons of old RSS loyalists are inspired to join the organisation. Early morning shakhas are no longer a familiar sight in north India. Television-savvy Hindu evangelists like Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar have been far more successful in connecting with India’s new spiritually conscious generation than the RSS.

The RSS as a referee and final arbiter for the BJP is a terrible concept, since the truth is that the BJP has long outgrown its parent body. True, the RSS has contributed much to the BJP’s success in terms of manpower, organisation and ideology. But does this give the RSS the right to call the shots for ever? If the BJP matured and evolved to become a national alternative to the Congress, it was because leaders like Vajpayee and Advani fought hard to ensure that the party could emerge as a more broad-based entity with a charter far more liberal and inclusive than what the closed-minded RSS ever envisaged. Sadly, many party leaders have themselves encouraged the concept of RSS interference in the BJP for their own personal advancement.

Party President Rajnath Singh, for instance, got the job thanks to the RSS and continues to pander to factions of the RSS to further his own interests. He was quick to take action against Jaswant Singh and Vasundhara Raje because he knew that this would please the RSS. He discreetly looked the other way when Arun Shourie waved a red rag at him because he was aware that Shourie had been smart enough to keep the RSS on his side. One of the few BJP leaders powerful enough to defy the RSS writ and get way with it is Narendra Modi, since he had big electoral victories.

A split in the undivided Hindu joint family, known as the Sangh Parivar, would benefit both organisations. Cutting the umbilical cord with the RSS would allow the BJP to remain relevant in the 21st century. It would be equally advantageous to the RSS which could focus on the work for which it was set up, instead of its meddling in power politics. If Bhagwat is determined to micro-manage the BJP, he should simply take over the reins of the party himself. His constant backseat driving is bound to land the party in an even bigger mess than the one it finds itself in at present.

coomi.kapoor@expressindia.com